The office of the NI Ombudsman, now known as the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman (NIPSO), was first established in Northern Ireland in 1969.[1][2] The role of an independent ombudsman was originally created as a response to the Northern Ireland civil rights movement, and complaints of institutional bias and discrimination in the areas of housing and jobs.[3]

Among the office's governing statutes were the Commissioner for Complaints Act (Northern Ireland) 1969, and the later Ombudsman (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 and Commissioner for Complaints (Northern Ireland) Order 1996.[4] In April 2016, under the Public Services Ombudsman Act (Northern Ireland) 2016,[5] the Office of Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman (NIPSO) was established to consolidate the former offices of Assembly Ombudsman and Commissioner for Complaints into a single office. The act also expanded the functions of the newly consolidated office.[6]

The ombudsman's function is to investigate complaints about most public services in Northern Ireland.[7] The complainant must usually have exhausted the complaints process of the public body first. The Ombudsman may look at complaints about health care, social care, education, housing, local and central government, and on the clinical judgment of health and social care professionals.[citation needed]

Previous holders of the office have included Stephen McGonagle,[8] Jill McIvor,[1] Gerry Burns,[9] Maurice Hayes,[1] Tom Frawley,[1] and Marie Anderson.[2] Since mid-2020, the ombudsman has been Margaret Kelly.[10][11]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Forty years of Administrative Justice in Northern Ireland" (PDF). British and Irish Ombudsman Association. December 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 August 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Committee Welcomes Ombudsman's Appointment". Northern Ireland Assembly. March 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  3. ^ "North Ombudsman presses for reform". irishtimes.com. Irish Times. 9 January 2010. Archived from the original on 28 August 2019. The Northern Ireland Ombudsman [..] office was established in 1969 to deal with a swathe of complaints of bias and discrimination in housing and jobs across Northern Ireland as marchers demanding civil rights took to the streets
  4. ^ "Commissioner for Complaints (Northern Ireland) Order 1996". legislation.gov.uk. National Archives (UK). 1996. Retrieved 28 August 2019. This Order repeals and re-enacts with amendments the Commissioner for Complaints Act (Northern Ireland) 1969
  5. ^ "Public Services Ombudsman Act (Northern Ireland) 2016". legislation.gov.uk. National Archives (UK). 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  6. ^ "About NIPSO - What we do". nipso.org.uk. Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  7. ^ "List of Public Authorities Within Remit of NIPSO" (PDF). nipso.org.uk. Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  8. ^ "Former senator, ombudsman and trade unionist". Irish Times. 9 March 2002. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  9. ^ "Gerry Burns". Queens University Belfast. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  10. ^ "New NI Public Services Ombudsman is selected". belfasttelegraph.co.uk. Belfast Telegraph. 2 July 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  11. ^ "Joan Johnson: NI Ombudsman U-turns on report". bbc.com. BBC News. 8 November 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2020.

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